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GAME NOTES (PDF)

Friday Starters
LWU: Sr., RH Travis Burnette
HPU: R-Sr., RH Scot Hoffman

Saturday Starters
LWU: Fr., LH Steven Farkas
HPU: Jr., RH Andre Scrubb

Sunday Starters
LWU: TBA
HPU: Fr., RH Andrew Gottfried

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University baseball team returns to Big South action this weekend with a three-game series against Longwood University beginning on Friday, April 8, at 6 p.m., in Williard Stadium.

The Series: The Panthers are 10-5 against Longwood in the HPU Div. I era (2000-present). Last season, High Point took two of three games at Farmville last season then beat the Lancers again in the Big South Tournament. 
 
The Opponent: Longwood is 18-12 overall and 6-3 in the Big South this season. The Lancers earned a series sweep at Charleston Southern last weekend and have won five of their last six conference games. Alex Lewis has been one of the top hitters in the Big South this season with a .384 batting average, 29 RBI and 22 runs scored. Connar Bastaich is the only other player above .300 for Longwood at .309 with 23 runs scored. The Lancers rely on a consistent lineup with seven different players registering at least 28 starts in the first 30 games of the season. Senior right-hander Travis Burnette will start on the mound for Longwood on Friday while freshman left-hander Steven Farkas will get the ball on Saturday. Burnette is 4-1 this season with a 2.03 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 48-2/3 innings. Farkas is 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 36-1/3 innings. The freshman is third in the Big South with a .189 opponent batting average.

Probable Starting Pitcher:
•Friday: Redshirt-Senior Scot Hoffman will go for his fourth-straight win when he takes the mound for High Point on Friday. Hoffman is 3-2 on the season with a 5.05 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 35-2/3 innings. He earned a win over Maryland last weekend after allowing two earned runs in 5-2/3 innings. Over his past four starts, the right-hander has allowed just six runs, five earned, in 23-1/3 innings while striking out 19.
 
•Saturday: Junior Andre Scrubb will try and bounce back from his worst outing of the season on Saturday. Scrubb is 5-2 this season with a 3.99 ERA and is second in the Big South with 49 strikeouts in 38-1/3 innings. He took a loss last weekend after giving up six runs, three earned, in 1-2/3 innings against Maryland.
 
•Sunday: Freshman Andrew Gottfried will make his sixth start of the season for HPU in the series finale on Sunday. Gottfried is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 30-1/3 innings of work. The right-hander allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk in 4-2/3 innings and struck out four against Maryland.
 
Last Time Out: The Panthers fell on the road to No. 13 North Carolina by a score of 8-1 in a midweek contest on Tuesday. Junior Chris Clare reached base in all four of his plate appearances, finishing 3-3 at the plate with a walk, a double and HPU's only RBI. Sophomore Hunter Lee scored the lone run for High Point on the Clare double after reaching with an error and stealing second.
 
Last Weekend: The Panthers went on the road and picked up a series win at Maryland over the weekend. High Point won the first game by a score of 7-2 then dropped the middle contest, 13-5, before bouncing back with a 4-3 win on Sunday. Junior Drew Fopeano went 6-9 with two walks and two doubles in the three games. He drove in four, including the game-tying and game-winning runs on Sunday, and scored twice. Fellow Junior Josh Greene enjoyed his best weekend of the season, going 5-11 with a double, two home runs, three RBI and five runs scored.
 
HPU Off To Best Start In Div. I History: At 20-9, High Point is off to its best start to a season since 1978 when the Panthers finished 32-9 in NAIA. HPU's previous high for wins at this point in the season in the Div. I era (2000-present) was 16 in 2010.
 
Panthers Running Wild: High Point has stolen 58 bases so far this season, which ranks first in the Big South and seventh in the nation. The Panthers are on pace to break the HPU Div. I single-season record of 123 stolen bases set in 2010. Austin Zente stole seven bags in the series against Wright State and Dayton and now leads the Big South with 18 on the season, which puts him tied for 13th nationally. Chris Clare (8) and Hunter Lee (8) are also in the top 10 in the Big South in steals while Carson Jackson is right behind with seven. 

Britton Lights Out: Britton has been one of the Panthers' best pitchers this season and the top arm out of the bullpen. The right-hander has appeared in eight games and is 5-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30-2/3 innings pitched. He currently ranks first in the Big South in ERA, is tied for first in wins and is fourth in opponent batting average. Against Maryland, Britton pitched 4-1/3 innings to earn the win in the series finale. He allowed just one walk and struck out three in the one-run win.
 
HPU Pitching Rounding Into Form: After struggling on the mound to start the season, High Point turned it around in March, posting a 3.14 team ERA and holding opponents to a .226 batting average. The Panthers had three shutouts in the month against Dayton, La Salle and UNC Asheville and held opponents to two or fewer runs in 10 games. 

The Hitman Cometh: Senior Dominic Fazio has become a staple in the High Point lineup, starting all 29 games for the Panthers this season. After serving as a bench player for his first three years at HPU, Fazio is hitting .324 with eight doubles, 18 walks and 20 RBI. He has recorded multiple hits in 10 games and reached base safely in all but four games. Fazio's 33 hits in 2016 is two more than he had in his first three years combined.

Mansfield Takes Three: Senior Tim Mansfield is tied for first in the Big South and tied for 12th in the nation with four triples on the season. He hit a triple in three consecutive games from March 4-8 with one in each of the Panthers' final two games against Dayton then one in the midweek season opener against La Salle. His fourth came against Elon on March 22.
 
Scrubb's March Madness: Andre Scrubb was dominant on the mound in March, going 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in 27-2/3 innings. The right-hander held opponents to a .149 batting average while striking out 38 batters. He recorded two double-digit strikeout games, including a career-high 11 at UNC Asheville.
 
Jackson Just Misses Cycle...Twice: Carson Jackson finished a hit shy of the cycle in two-straight games. The first baseman was a single shy in the series finale at UNC Asheville then was short a double in the midweek contest against Elon. Jackson is hitting .357 on the season with six doubles, three triples and three home runs. He leads the Panthers with a .571 slugging percentage.
 
Jackson Named Big South Player Of The Week: Sophomore Carson Jackson earned his first Big South Player of the Week nod on March 21 after helping High Point grab a road sweep at UNC Asheville in its first conference series of the season. Jackson went 8-18 at the plate with a double, two triples and a home run as High Point went 3-1, including a three-game sweep on the road at UNC Asheville to open Big South play. He led the Panthers with six RBI and four runs scored and stole his sixth base of the season. He is the first HPU player to earn Big South Player of the Week honors since Dane McDermott on April 7, 2014.
 
Cozart Wins 200th Game: The Panthers' win over Wright State on March 2 was the 200th win of head coach Craig Cozart's career.  He is now 215-210 in his eight-year career as a head coach with all eight years taking place at HPU. Cozart holds the HPU Div. I record for career wins and has guided High Point to its five winningest seasons in the Div. I era. The Panthers had never finished at or above .500 prior to Cozart's arrival, but since he took over in 2009, the team has finished .500 or better four times, including each of the past three seasons.
 
Lee Setting The Table: Hunter Lee was the quintessential leadoff man for the Panthers in the series against Marist. He went 6-9 at the plate with six walks, two doubles and four runs scored.
 
HPU Receives Free Passes Against UNCG: The Panthers were walked 13 times in the series finale against UNCG, matching the HPU Div. I single-game record set against Charleston Southern in 2007. The team also had three batters hit in the game. In the sixth inning, High Point scored six runs on just two hits as four players were walked and another two batters were hit.
 
Lee Ties HPU Doubles Record: Sophomore Hunter Lee began the 2016 season with three doubles on opening day against UNCG. The sophomore hit doubles to right in the first, third and sixth innings while also drawing a walk in the fourth. Lee's three doubles tied a HPU Div. I single-game record that has been achieved five other times, last by former Panther first baseman Spencer Angelis in 2012.
 
Up Next: High Point will play host to UNC Wilmington on Wednesday, April 13 at 6 p.m. in the first of two midweek contests between the Panthers and Seahawks. It will be the first meeting between the two North Carolina schools since 2003. High Point is just 1-6 against Wilmington in the Div. I era (2000-present).

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